Rajm is an Arabic word that means "stoning". It is commonly used to refer to the Hudud punishment wherein an organized group
throws stones at a convicted individual until that person dies. Traditionally
it is called for in cases of adultery where the criteria for conviction are met. In some schools of Islamic law the punishment of stoning has been prescribed as punishment for married men or women
who have committed adultery, following a confession or the testimony of four
eye-witnesses. It has no basis in the Qur'an however it is found in Hadith (e.g.
Sahih Muslim 17:4191 - 4209 and 17:4916 & 17:4194) . I wanted
to address many of these hadiths about Stoning. Let's be CLEAR (Bayyinatti), the Holy
Quran does NOT acknowledge any relationship outside of marriage. It uses one
word for any relation outside of marriage between a woman and a man, the Arabic
word is ZINA. Thus there is no such word for homosexuals, gays, lesbians, adulterers,
or fornicators for that matter, it is all considered to be ZINA. And according
to the Shafi`i school of thought (madhab), the homosexual receives the same
punishment as adultery (if he/she is married) or fornication (if not married).
Where I diverge from Shafi’i is the stoning of adulterers. The Quran is clear
as to the punishment for Zina, that is 100 lashes.

Quran 24:2- 4 "The woman and the man guilty
of adultery or fornication (ZINA),- flog each of them with a hundred stripes:
Let not compassion move you in their case, in a matter prescribed by Allah, if
ye believe in Allah and the Last Day: and let a party of the Believers witness
their punishment. Let no man guilty of adultery or fornication marry and but a
woman similarly guilty, or an Unbeliever: nor let any but such a man or an
Unbeliever marry such a woman: to the Believers such a thing is forbidden. And
those who launch a charge against chaste women, and produce not four witnesses
(to support their allegations),- flog them with eighty stripes; and reject
their evidence ever after: for such men are wicked transgressors;"

There is no mentioning of stoning here contrary to
some Islamic traditions. In fact, according to Quran 4:25 the punishment of a
slave is half that of a free woman and you can not half stone someone to death.
Thus you should not stone Adulterers or anyone guilty of Zina for that matter.
Although it may seem that these verses in Surah 24 mean to hurt the sinner,
i.e. Homosexuals, Adulterers, and Fornicators but this is not the case. These
verses were revealed as a mercy and a protection thus necessitating the accuser to produce 4
witnesses. It is a protection against slander. The only way you can be guilty
of being viewed by 4 witnesses is by having sex in public, or 4 people enter
your home & catch you, or being captured on video, or you go around running your
mouth to other people. In these cases you deserved to be flogged.

But...... if
the person accusing you, if they do not produce the 4 witnesses they get
flogged 80 times. This serves as protection for possible homosexuals, adulterers, and
fornicators from slander & verbal abuse. You are innocent until PROVEN GUILTY.

However,
stoning is allegedly based on the prophet's practice. In the tradition of
hadith, cases are met with in which adultery was punished with stoning to
death. One of these cases is expressly mentioned as that of a Jew couple: “The
Jews came to the Prophet with a man and a woman from among them who had
committed adultery; and by his order they were stoned to death near the place
where funeral services were held" Bukhari 23:61.

Further explanation of this incident is given in
another report where it is stated that when the Jews referred the case to him,
he inquired of them what punishment the Torah prescribed in case of adultery.
Jews tried at 1st to conceal the fact that it was stoning to death, but on 'Abd
Allah ibn Salaam giving the reference (See Bible: John 8:3-5), they admitted
it, and the guilty persons were dealt with as prescribed in Torah (Bukhari
61:26).

According to a 3rd version, which is the most
detailed, the Jews who desired to avoid the severer punishment of stoning for
adultery said one to another: "Let us go to this Prophet, for he has been
raised with milder teaching; so if he gives his decision for a milder
punishment than stoning, we will accept it." It is then related that the
Prophet went with them to their midraas (the house in which the Torah was
read), and asked them what punishment was prescribed in their sacred book. They
tried to conceal it at 1st but the truth had to be admitted at last, and the
Prophet gave his decision saying: "I give my judgement according to what
is in the Torah" Abu Dawud 37:26.

There are even reports where the stoning was
applied to Muslims too but that was before the revealing of Surah 24:2. A
suggestion to that effect is contained in a tradition (Bukhari 87:6)
"Shaibaani says, I asked 'abd Allah ibn Abi Aufaa, Did the Holy Prophet
stone to death? He said, Yes. I said, was it before the chapter entitled
"the Light" (the 24th Surah) was revealed or after it? The reply was,
I do not know". Thus there was some confusion on this matter even among
the companions of the Prophet (SAW). And those hadiths attributed to Umar on
stoning are unsound.

What about this
hadith?

“Jabir b.
Samura reported: "As he was being brought to Allah's Apostle (may peace be
upon him) I saw Ma'iz b. Malik-a short-statured person with strong sinews,
having no cloak around him. He bore witness against his own self four times
that he had committed adultery, whereupon Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon
him) said: Perhaps (you kissed her or embraced her). He said: No. by God, one
deviating (from the path of virtue) has committed adultery. He then got him
stoned (to death), and then delivered the address: Behold, as we set out for
Jihad in the cause of Allah, one of you lagged behind and shrieked like the
bleating of a male goat, and gave a small quantity of milk. By Allah, in case I get hold of him, I
shall certainly punish him.”

Still there is
no indication of when the punishment of stoning for Maiz b. Malik was after the revelation. In the case of Maiz
b. Malik- 1.) Someone reported him
sleeping with his slave. 2.) He was asked four times & he confessed 3.)
Prophet inquired if he just hugged & kissed her and Mr Malik still
confessed. Then he was punished. On point # 1 there were not 4 witnesses which
is a indication that it occurred prior to the revelation of Surah 24:2.
Also there were no lashes/flogging mentioned which is detailed in Surah 24.
Thus could not have existed during the time when flogging was enjoined by Allah
in such cases. Maiz b. Malik was asked 4 times (on different days), and was inquired if he had
a soundness of mind (according to Sahih Muslim
17:4202). This means even if it was after the revelation we
should still have to pump the breaks. The penal laws of Islam are called Hudud
in the Hadith and Fiqh. This word is the plural of Hadd, which means
prevention, hindrance, restraint, prohibition, and hence a restrictive
ordinance or statute of God, respecting things lawful and unlawful.

Punishments are divided into two classes, one of
which is called Hadd and the other Ta'zir. The Hadd is a measure of punishment
defined by the Qur'an and the Sunnah. In Ta'zir, the court, is allowed to use
its discretion in regard to the form and measure in which such punishment is to
be inflicted.Punishments by way of Hadd are of the following
forms: death by stoning, amputation of a limb or limbs, flogging by one hundred
or eighty strokes. They are prescribed respectively for the following offences:
adultery committed by married persons, theft, highway robbery, drunkenness and
slander imputing unchastity to women.

The punishments described above are the MAXIMUM punishments for the above mentioned crimes. These can be reduced keeping in
view the circumstances in which the crimes were committed, the nature of the
evidence, and the motive of the criminal with which he committed the crime.
In Maiz b. Malik case, he insisted brazenly on the punishment even after
Allah’s messenger sought a way out for him.

Now regarding this hadith:
''Ubada
b. as-Samit reported: "Allah's Messenger (may peace be upon him) as saying:
Receive (teaching) from me, receive (teaching) from me. Allah has ordained a
way for those (women). When an unmarried male commits adultery with an
unmarried female (they should receive) one hundred lashes and banishment for
one year. And in case of married male committing adultery with a married
female, they shall receive one hundred lashes and be stoned to death."
This
hadith can be rejected as a later fabrication, and was not related during the
time of the prophet.

**
Clue # 2: The Quran ONLY has one word for ANY relationship outside of marriage
and that word is ZINA. There was no distinction made between fornication &
adultery until after the Abbasid period when the collections of hadith were
formed. It is a disfiguring of the truth by saying that hadiths about stoning
do not contradict the Quran since only married people are stoned to death. In
reality, the fact is that no matter how hard you try to misinterpret and
manipulate the Quran, stoning the adulterer is never mentioned in the Quran.

Since
a married woman who was previously under the yoke of slavery receives only half
the punishment of a married woman, it proves incontrovertibly that the
punishment for a married person is 100 lashes (as we saw in 24:2), not stoning
to death. You can divide 100 by two (50 lashes) [surah 4:25], but you cannot
possibly divide death by two. This is how Allah designed His honorable and
powerful Quran to defeat the pagan law of stoning.
Verse
4:25 therefore proves incontrovertibly that the definition of “azzâniyatou” and
“azzânî” in 24:2 refers both to married and unmarried people who have sex
outside of wedlock.

Even
if we try and accept these hadiths as true it becomes harder to enforce if you
really see the whole body of hadiths in context on the same subject. According
to Sheik Javed Ahmad Ghamidi (J. Ghamidi, Mizan, The Penal Law of Islam,
Al-Mawrid),states that the Quran does not support Rajm for adultery- his views
are based on a close reading of the Quranic text.[Quran 24:2]. Ghamidi claims that stoning is prescribed only in extreme cases - for
someone who rapes or habitually commits fornication as
prostitutes do, which then constitute malfeasance in the land that is
punishable according to other Quranic verses.The
hadith reports attributed to the Prophet also support this view:
"Acquire
it from me, acquire it from me. The Almighty has revealed the directive about
women who habitually commit fornication, about which He had promised to reveal.
If such criminals are unmarried or are the unsophisticated youth, then their
punishment is a hundred stripes and exile and if they are widowers or are
married, then their punishment is a hundred stripes and death by
stoning."- Sahih Muslim 1690.

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